Elvis Presley in Blue Hawaii
Have you ever want to see where Elvis sang “Hawaiian Sunset”? Does the idea of walking along the same beach as Betty Grable or Charlton Heston bring a smile to your face? If you’re visiting Hawaii, you might be interested to see some of the locations where classic films were made on the Big Island.
Because of Hawaii’s unique topographer and lush tropical environments many production companies choose to film here. Features have been set on the Big Island, as far back as 1918 when Paramount made The Hidden Pearls in Kalapana. Below is a list of classic films and the locations where they were filmed.
The Old Man and the Sea: The classic adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s novel was filmed in Kona in 1958. Spencer Tracy stars in this adventure movie about a fisherman who hooks a gigantic fish that drags him out to sea.
Diamond Head: Charlton Heston and Yvette Mimieux play the leads in this drama about a US Senatorial candidate who tries to control everything around him and finds out that money and power can’t buy happiness. Hilo, Hanalei, and Kaua’I were some of the locations used to make this film in 1963.
Blue Hawaii: This musical/ comedy, starring Elvis Presley and Angela Landsbury was filmed in Hilo as well as many other locations in Hawaii in 1961. Some of the locations used in the film still look the same as they did in the 60s.
Robert Mitchum and Elsa Martinelli in Rampage
Song of the Island: Betty Grable and Victor Mature star in this comedy/ romance about a young couple falling in love. Twentieth Century Fox made this film in 1941, and used locations in Kalapana.
Rampage: This tense black and white film was made in 1963. Robert Mitchum and Elsa Martinelli play a couple who are on a hunt for a rare breed of panther in Malaysia. Parts of the movie were filmed in Puna
Birds of Paradise: Debra Paget and Louis Jourdan star in this drama/ romance from 1951 about a married couple who have to decide what to do when the island’s holy man tells them a sacrifice needs to be made to appease the erupting volcano. Many locations on the Big Island were used including: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Puna, and Pu’uhonua O Honaunau.
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